1. Field of the Disclosure
The invention relates in general to fillers which are configured to fill packages with a flowable material, and more particularly, to systems for sanitizing the filling process, or, in other terms, a system for generating vaporized hydrogen peroxide for use in association with a filler.
2. Background Art
The use of hydrogen peroxide and vapor hydrogen peroxide for purposes of sanitizing fillers is known in the art. Problematically, prior art vapor hydrogen peroxide generator systems do not have a manner to reduce gasification of hydrogen peroxide when utilized in a continuous and/or semi-continuous production process. The gasification of hydrogen peroxide can cause the incorrect metering of flow rate measurement which lowers the effectiveness of the overall system. Gasification often occurs if a relatively large volume is permitted to stay in a container for extended periods of time, or if fluid lines are not cleared and the fluid is allowed to linger in the lines.
Additionally, and also problematically, prior art vapor hydrogen peroxide generator systems do not have a manner in which to interrupt the flow of vaporized hydrogen peroxide when filling equipment is in a standby or an idle state. An idle state is a frequent occurrence, for example, when performing a product changeover or maintenance or other interruption. Often, after an idle state, a long restart time is experienced. On the other hand, keeping the system in a running state causes excess usage of hydrogen peroxide, as well as causing unsafe exposure to vapor hydrogen peroxide.